Looks Like Legalizing Online Gambling Could Change

According to the financial times there could be a new move to legalize online gambling in the near future. Barney Frank is not giving up!! Way to go Mr. Frank.

A top US Democrat is launching an offensive to roll back legislation against online gambling passed under the Bush administration, saying the climate is ripe for Congress to unlock restraints that are “impinging” on the freedom of Americans.

Barney Frank, chairman of the House financial services committee, told the Financial Times he would reintroduce a bill in the next few weeks to establish a licensing and regulatory framework for online gambling operators.

Mr Frank said he also expected anti-gambling regulations, rushed through in the dying weeks of the Bush administration, to be included among the measures Congress will look to rescind.

A Democrat-led Congress and a more liberal political climate is persuading the Massachusetts congressman to make his twin-pronged assault on an issue that he said bore similarities to prohibition in the 1920s and 30s.

Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006, which tightened the laws against online gambling, forcing the exodus of listed companies operating in the US. At the same time, the Department of Justice began to arrest executives of some of these companies at airports and put them in court.

Mr Frank said: “I expect an Obama DoJ to be less zealous about locking people up. These outrageous arrests in transit – they should be stopping that stuff.”

The UIGEA regulations, which make it illegal for financial institutions to process online gambling transactions, became final on January 19, but do not need to be implemented until December.

Mr Frank said the prospects for his bill, which was discussed in the last session of Congress but never voted on, were greater because public opinion was demanding the right to gamble online.

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Douglas Rennick, a Canadian man, has pleaded guilty to a count of processing offshore bets of U.S. citizens. Originally Rennick was looking at a charge of conspiracy and bank fraud. He had allegedly laundered $350 million dollars for overseas internet gambling companies.
Rennick was indicted in August and on Tuesday entered a guilty plea to the one charge in New York Federal court. Part of the plea was forfeiting $17.1 million and a possible prison term of 6-12 months.

Today the government of France approved a new online gambling bill. The bill passed the French parliament by a narrow 299-233 vote. The French will grant only 30 licenses to operate online casinos and poker rooms within its borders. Though it is now official and France says that licenses will be granted in time for the 2010 World Cup, not everyone is excited about the French market.

France acknowledged that 11 companies have been granted license and have been registered to conduct online sports and horse race betting as well as online poker within France.
According to Arjel president Jean-Francois Vilotte, the regulator of gaming in France,
“There were 35 requests for licenses and we have retained 17 at this stage. None have been formally rejected.